On-The-Job Injuries
Not All Workers Comp Policies Are The Same In Texas 
When you are injured at work, you should seek the help of an on-the-job injury lawyer in Arlington, TX from Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC. A personal injury claim is a claim for injuries sustained due to the negligence of another person or entity. This entitles a person to recover money for medical bills (present and future), lost income, loss of future earning capacity, property damage costs for either repairing or replacing any damaged property such as vehicles, and additional compensation for pain and suffering, the loss of enjoyment of life.
The major difference between a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim is the ability to obtain what are known as “general damages” in a personal injury claim. General damages are not awardable in a workers compensation claim. These “general damages” include the economic value associated with pain, discomfort, mental and emotional distress, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, and related injury. Oftentimes, this is the most valuable portion of a personal injury claim simply because the costs of medical treatment and lost income often pale in comparison to the emotional toll that a significant bodily injury can have on a person’s life including their work life, home life and their personal relationships.
Your Workplace Doctor May Not Have Your Best Interest At Heart
Workplaces are often places where injury can and does occur due to violations on the part of the employer. In Texas, the injured employee is left with an injury that keeps him or her from earning a paycheck or paying medical bills for an injury that the employer caused if the employer does not carry Workers’ Compensations insurance.
However, your employer may have a replacement policy – one that is not actually under the official Texas Workers’ Compensation. Many times your employer they will send you to the company doctor for evaluation. What the employee doesn’t know is that the company doctor does not see the employee as his client because the employer is his client. A doctor will often stop treatment and get the employee back to work, despite the severity of the injury, at the request of the employer.
If an employee is unable to return, because he physically cannot stand for any period of time due to untreated ligament injuries, damaged muscles, broken bones, or the need for surgery – the employer then uses the doctor’s recommendations as a reason to fire the employee.
Let Us Review Your Situation To Determine Your Options
If you’ve been injured at work, you need an advocate on your side, like an on-the-job injury lawyer Arlington, Texas relies on. You are being put into a position where they are forcing you out of your job. You have nothing to lose at this point – you must protect yourself from this unethical and harmful behavior of your employer and your employer’s doctor.
Injuries occurring on the job can have various impacts on your life. You can have damages including:
- Medical bills
- Physical Pain
- Mental Anguish & Suffering
- Loss of earnings or loss of earning capacity
- Disfigurement
- Death
- Physical Impairment
- Loss of Consortium
- Loss of the Enjoyment of Life
What is workers’ comp?
Workers’ compensation is a government program that provides security and rehabilitation for workers who are injured on the job or while performing job-related duties. Depending on where you work, how long you have worked there, and what type of work you do, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation if you were injured at your workplace. In order to find out about your eligibility and benefits, speak to your company’s human resources department and speak to a workers’ compensation attorney as well.
Length of Time Worked
Some states and companies have a regulation that requires you to be with a company for a set amount of hours before being eligible for workers’ compensation. This can prevent people from switching jobs and taking advantage of their state’s workers’ compensation benefits. Talk to your human resources manager to find out how long you must be with the company before benefits are active because there is often a waiting period. Any training periods with the company may not be covered under workers’ compensation law so it is important to contact an Arlington on-the-job injury lawyer immediately if you were injured during this period.
Type of Work
If you are working as a seasonal employee or working for a company that does not employee enough people to be required to provide workers’ compensation benefits, you may not be eligible. However, it is important to check your state’s laws about your employer’s obligation to provide these benefits. Your on-the-job injury lawyer in Arlington, TX can help. If you are working as an independent contractor you may not be eligible as well. When being hired at a new company, this is something that should be discussed when the benefits package is reviewed.
There are a lot of things that can cause injuries on a construction site. Tools, machines, other people and structural dangers all come together to make a construction site somewhere that many injuries occur. If you were the victim of a construction site injury, you may be wondering what to do next. The following are just a few steps you can take.
Receive Medical Care
Don’t downplay your injury as something that doesn’t require medical attention. There are some injuries that may not seem like much, but end up being more serious than you originally realized. For example, if you fall into a hole and hit your head on a rock, you might feel fine in just a short amount of time. A concussion could show up a week or more after the fall. For this reason, it’s important to seek the attention of your physician so you can discuss what signs and symptoms to look for in the coming days and weeks.
Contact Your Boss
Your boss should know that you received an injury on the job. If he or she witnessed the accident, you may not need to make a formal report, but it doesn’t hurt to have it in writing. Every state has a time limit for which an employer must be notified of a workplace accident if the employee wishes to receive workers’ compensation, so be sure you contact your boss as soon as possible.
If you don’t work at the construction site, you should contact the contractor to find out which insurance company to contact. You may not qualify for workers’ compensation, but chances are the construction company is insured and you can seek compensation that way.
Collect Evidence
In order to have a good case, or to show who is liable for the construction site accident, begin to collect evidence immediately after your accident. Take pictures of the scene, gather witness contact information and collect surveillance videos. Your lawyer can help you work on gathering this evidence, as well as help you to know which items are necessary for a good case.
You should also keep a record of all your medical bills and other statements. Every injury-related expense will play a role in compensation, so it’s important you have all of the amounts to add up.
Type of Company
If you have worked for an extended period of time with a larger company, you are likely covered by workers’ compensation laws. However, it is important that you report the incident to the appropriate department in a timely manner. An employee manual can also help guide you as to what your benefits are and when they go into effect.
If you were injured on the job and need medical care or will lose time from work as a result, it is wise to contact an Arlington, Texas on-the-job lawyer as soon as possible. While reporting the incident and receiving prompt medical care are essential, having the right law team on your side can give your case the edge that it needs to be successful.
How long do I have to report my workplace injury to my employer?
In the state of Texas when an employee is injured, an employee has 30 days to inform their employer of the injury. After the first impairment rating, an employee then has 90 days to appeal that decision. Time is of the essence in workers compensation claims so this short window of time is imperative. Additionally, an employee must file the official paperwork for a workers compensation claim within a year of the date of injury.
Can my employer fire me?
An employer cannot fire an employee strictly based off of the injury that occurred at the job location. If this happens, and it is able to be proved, the employer will be held liable. However, an employer can terminate an employee based on other considerations such as performance issues that are hindering the position itself and causing hardship on the company.
Who pays for my prescriptions?
There are a few avenues an employee could implement when attempting to get their medical prescriptions paid for with an injury. The first step would be to check if the employer has Workers Compensation Insurance. If they do, this will typically pay for prescriptions related to on the job injury. Some employers have an Employment benefit program which will assist with costs of prescriptions, therefore be sure to ask your employer if they have that. If neither of those options are available an employee can utilize their own health insurance to cover these costs. The last resort if all else fails is for the employee to pay for the prescriptions themselves.
How long is my claim open?
When an injury claim is open by an employee, the actual claim pretty much stays open indefinitely unless the employee ceases to work for that employer or until both sides decide to settle the injury claim. However, keep in mind that a workers compensation attorney can assist with reopening a claim after settlement if the injury gets worse or persists.
What are my rights and responsibilities?
As an injured employee in the state of Texas, an employee has rights to certain procedures during the claim. An employee has the right to contest compensation on a claim, the right to dispute the resolution, and the right to be notified of a possible settlement on the claim. Additionally, there are responsibilities that the employer is expected to take such as taking measures to keep oneself safe at the workplace in all aspects of the position. Particularly, if the position is a risky position which requires employees to take extra precaution. Usually, these type of positions inform employees before accepting the job of the risks in that position.
For a free consultation for a workplace injury attorney at our office, call us at 817-841-9906 or contact us online to schedule a meeting. Even if you think there is nothing we can do for you, give our firm the opportunity to meet with you and review your situation to see if there is any way we can help you. Call now to speak with an on-the-job injury lawyer in Arlington, TX from Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC.
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“Yesha did a great job handling my PI case. Kept me very informed and always made sure I understood what the situation was. Thank you so much Yesha and the Brandy Austin Law Firm. ”
